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How V the Vampire Vigilante Should Have Ended...
🕑 Added 2017-12-03 14:10:40 +0000 UTC With V the Vampire Vigilante's story arc over, i thought i'd let you (my higher end patreons) in on a bit of my 'writing process'.Generally, when i write a story for a comic, i start with an outline. Then i flesh out the dialog and scene details (ie, notes about panels i think would work, etc). And finally, i'll change things one last time as i'm drawing the actual panels (for layout reasons/to accommodate my lack of artistic skills).
As a result, a story can end up very different than when it started.
But there is one other reason i might change something. If i feel like it won't work.
The truth is, i originally intended to have Strange Girl turn out to be The Vampire of Fetishville. And had put in all the hints to lead up to that conclusion. That's why this scene ended up working so well.
Buuut... by the time i had started drawing (not just writing!) the 3rd chapter (V vs the Vampire Hunter), i decided i didn't want to have the comic end on such a dark and bleak tone as V having to confront and defeat her only friend.
It was a tone i originally pictured for the comic, yes. But it was also a tone i was starting to think wouldn't work for a comic meant to be about DID; the fetish and the tone would clash and i think my audience (you guys) would not like it on either level: not as a fetish comic about a cute vampiress who ends up bound and gagged a lot, nor as a tragedy of a young vampiress' resolving the conflict between justice and friendship.
So i had to rewrite everything from chapter 4 onward. I kept some of the broadstrokes (the episodic villains, for example, and the police investigation). But i added more hints to an ending i thought would play out better.
Interesting enough, Coolgirl was always meant to show up. But more the way Name Princess does later on - as just some other superheroine operating in Fetishville along with V (she was going to be like a superman esque character with stock superpowers).
But with a new ending, i needed a new villain. So i started to throw in a few hints to that new identity (while leaving the old as a sort've red herring).
But in the end, was i right to change everything like that? Well... maybe there's a universe in which i posted the original. And maybe people liked it. But that's not something we'll ever know now. :)
One thing it did change, for sure, was any sequel series was going to have Strange Girl show up as a sort've Hannibal Lector character (complete with face mask and restraints).
Anyway, i know this isn't that much of a 'fun' posting without a pic. But i hope it was something interesting all the same.
I just wanted to share that with you guys as sort've a thank you for all the support!
Comments
Honestly I think you managed to get the best of both worlds here, throwing suspicion on strange girl for a while was quite a fun shock but I think you're right that ultimately her being a murderer would have damaged the tone a little bit too much. I think a lighter tone works best for your stuff and it's certainly where I personally get the most enjoyment!
